Viewpoint: Still More Work To Be Done

With Thursday’s decision to suddenly ban therapeutic use exemptions
for testosterone the Nevada Athletic Commission sent a clear
message that it will no longer be part of the farce that has seen
mixed martial artist after mixed martial artist line up for a
permission slip to use one of the best -- if not the best --
performance-enhancing drugs available to athletes looking for a
competitive advantage.

What the NAC did not do is eradicate the problem of PEDs in combat
sports.

Let’s not kid ourselves, no sport will ever be truly clean, but
that does not mean the goal should be anything less.

With that said, the move by the most prominent commission in the
country -- which was quickly adopted by the
Ultimate Fighting Championship, the sport’s top promoter -- is
little more than a public-relations maneuver without a number of
follow-up steps that are necessary to ensure this sport is
regulated in an intelligent and vigilant manner.

While cheating will not be as simple as having a shady doctor put
pen to prescription pad, at least in Nevada, it still is not
difficult to do with the state of drug testing programs
administered by the athletic commissions currently patrolling
MMA.

On the top of the wish list in the battle to limit PEDs in any
sport has to be random, unannounced, out-of-competition drug
testing for all licensees. It is hard enough to catch cheaters when
drug screens are arbitrary; it is nearly impossible to catch PED
users when they know when they will be tested. Only the dumbest of
the dumb get caught in that scenario.

These tests would also have to include carbon isotope ratio
testing. CIR tests let regulators know if the testosterone in an
applicant’s systems is natural or synthetic, no matter the
levels.

Currently, fighters whose tests come back at a
testosterone-to-epitestosterone level below 1:4 in most states --
1:6 in Nevada -- are considered fine. A normal person’s T:E ratio
falls much closer to 1:1. You can see why it might be important to
verify if one’s testosterone is natural when he or she has elevated
T:E ratios.

It is pretty hard to find anyone who does not agree this is a
necessity for any legitimate PED enforcement policy; however, the
question that persists: Who will pay for it? The dollar figure
starts to add up quickly when you start adding up the number of
fighters who would be subject to these tests.

Add in the fact that standard tests performed by most commissions
are wholly inadequate and the more comprehensive panels that must
be conducted, including CIR testing, escalate costs quickly. A CIR
test can cost around $800 per test, according to Andy Foster,
the executive officer of the California State Athletic
Commission.

Another key component of a comprehensive policy to limit PEDs in
MMA has to be a universal set of regulations that are rigorously
enforced. Right now, the commissions who regulate MMA make up a
fractious group with divergent ideas on a whole host of issues
pertaining to overseeing the sport.

You have commissions that do not like the idea of a blanket ban of
TUEs for testosterone; you also have commissions that do not feel
the need to even do cursory drug testing at events held in their
jurisdictions; and you have commissions that do not even regulate
amateur MMA in their states.

Until all of these bodies can get on the same page and follow the
same guidelines, everybody is left to chase their own tails.

Honestly, after debating this for some time, I do not see any way
to accomplish the goal of safe and consistent regulation under the
system we have now; and despite the myriad of issues creating a
single body to administrate combat sports would raise, I cannot
think of a better solution.

It is a harrowing enterprise anytime you create a big bureaucratic
institution, but with the stakes as high as they are in combat
sports, it is time for a federal commission to govern these
competitions.

One commission failing to do any drug testing in its state?

Problem solved.

Another commission failing to report suspensions accurately or
follow suspension guidelines set up by the Association of Boxing
Commissions?

Problem solved.

Promoters shopping fights to commissions that will allow a
questionable fighter to be licensed to compete?

Problem solved.

If a federal commission were able to collect taxes and fees from
promoters no matter where fights are held, it could establish a
fund to cover the thorough out-of-competition testing program that
would become a real deterrent to would-be cheaters.

If the power brokers of the sport want to institute a rule change,
there would only be one place you had to go to get that done.
Rather than go to individual state or provincial legislatures to
get this approved dozens of times for each change, it would be a
one-stop regulatory shop to get rules changed.

On the flip side, there are some issues that would have to be
overcome. Large government agencies tend to get cumbersome quickly
and one has to wonder what the cost structure of an entity like
this would be. There should be substantial savings with
consolidation, but who knows how those efficiencies would be
utilized.

From a promoter standpoint, I can see why a federal commission
might not be wanted. It is hard to imagine a centralized agency not
wanting the same powers the Muhammad Ali Act grants the ABC in
boxing. That is a non-starter for the UFC. Some compromise would
have to be struck on this account. Also, the cost for increased
drug testing will surely be passed on to promoters. The UFC does
the lion’s share of business in MMA and would bear the biggest
percentage of the increased cost.

With that said, I still do not see a better way to bring about the
radical changes that need to happen to ensure MMA is not viewed as
the next cycling, horse racing or even baseball during its steroid
era.

Last week’s progress in Nevada is not insignificant, but it can
become so much more substantial if the sport continues to move
towards a true World Anti-Doping Agency- or United States
Anti-Doping Agency-style testing program that will help ensure the
safety and welfare of its participants.